Nevada County picayune., 1887-03-09

up to her room to make some uec. essary preparations for the night
 A few moments later. Susan came tip-toeing into the room.
 Dolly" she whispered, eau. tiously, "tlat woman yer Aunt tuck in, has got boots on!"
 "Bootsw
 "Yes, sir, reg'lar mems boots, and she's a big, strappin' crittur too, big as any man. It's my pin. ion she is man with woman's dress on."
 70, Susanw
 Dolly sat down on the edge ot the bed, white and trembling.
 "And Aunt has promised she might stay all night! What shall we do?"
 Can't do nothin', bein' there ain't no lock on the kitchen door. If they was, mout lock her up in ihere."
 Maybe you are mistaken, Su. san. Maybe she is only poor woman after all," suggested Dolly, hopefully.
 'Wal, mebby she is, and mebby she aint," returned Susan, phleg- matically. But l reckon know boots when l see lem. I wasn' t mistook in them. But you come down, Dolly, and take peep fur yourself"
 And, assuming as much compos- ure as possible, Dolly went down carrying a pillow, while Susan bore an armful of old comforts for the "poor womah's" bed.
 One glance at the tall, powerful figure, convinced Dolly that Su- sans suspicious were correct, while the palpably disguised tones of the intruder, as she replied very reluctantly to few questions, con. fined her fears.
 "If twan't so late," whispered Stu san, when the girls had once more retired to DOlly's room, lone of us might go sOmers fur help"
 "But it's over three miles to Farmer TOser's, and that's the nearest place." urged Dolly,
 And Uncle John and Rob have the horses, so we'd have to walk. And there's no tellin' what he might do, before we'd get back" said Su- san.
 "No, Snsan, we must do the best we can, by ourselves. You and I together-with the old shot gun will surely be more than a match for one man, if he only has no ac- complices.'
 And so tue matter was decided. Aunt Catharine retired to bed ear ly with cOmplacent conscience, at the thought of having done her duty to a 'poor lone woman," and when all was still, Susan appeared in Dolly's room with the gun, and her money she had hid in the bu, reau drawer. She had also took the precaution to bring the carving knife aud the axe.
 If you can't fire the gun, meb- be you kin chop him with the axe while Pm loading up again." she plilosophically remarked.
 Dolly's room adjoined her aunt's, with a door opening be- tween, which was left unfastened; but Dolly carefully secured both doors opening into the hall, and having turned the light down, the two girls sat prepared to wait the coming attack.
 Nine o'clock, ten, eleven struck and still no sound was heard, and in spite of their fears the watchers began to grow drowsy.
 Tired with her days work, Su- san lay down on the foot of the bed where she had been sitting. and by twelve o'clock her heavy, regular breathing, announced that robbers and all things of a like ma ture had faded from her mind.
 Dolly persisted in sitting up, but as one o'clock struck she found herself dozing in her chair while n confused medly of axes, shot guns. and gigantic figures in wo- mans raiment, fitted before her mind, and at last she succombed entirely to the somnolent deity which is said to knit up the rav- eled sleeve of care," when sudden ly crash! crash! bangl The re port of a revolver, and the sound of n violent altercation in the hall below, aroused the now scared